Appropriately enough for the topic, Houstonians will have to wait a bit longer for City Council to vote on updating taxi and limo regulations to include transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft. This debate has been ongoing for more than a year, and we doubt that an extra week of deliberation will change any votes.

Taxi advocates have been shedding crocodile tears about insurance concerns and handicapped accessibility, both of which the proposed regulations appropriately address. Some of the new amendments to the regulations even go too far, such as requirements for commercial insurance that covers drivers when they're not working. We also question the proposed limits on the number of vehicles that a transportation network company can contract with.

In a sprawling city like Houston, there is little reason to unnecessarily restrict the number of drivers who can help people sans cars get around. New technology makes it all too easy for supply to meet demand, and City Hall doesn't need to stand in the way.

Whatever sins Uber has committed in its self-proclaimed disruption of the taxi industry, Houstonians should have little sympathy for a status quo of unnecessary rules that only protects poor service from new competition.

Entrepreneurs should not have to genuflect at City Hall. It's time for council members to say "yes" to free markets and the future.

Over the underpass

Council members finally rose above the contentious underpass fight and approved $10 million to add two lanes of car traffic to Metro's planned light rail overpass.

Dating back nearly to its original inception, the Green Line light rail route along Harrisburg had included plans for an underpass to avoid a freight rail crossing near Hughes Road. However, study after study found potentially dangerous chemical plumes in the soil that would require expensive cleanup operations, leaving an overpass as the best option. Frustrated with broken promises, East End representatives blocked the city's $10 million contribution to the project. Metro responded by planning to build a rail-only overpass. Politicians should keep their word, but the perfect shouldn't be the enemy of the good.

So while the East End won't get the underpass they were promised, they will at least be able to get around without being blocked by freight trains.

Dome discussion

The West Texas town of Alpine isn't the natural venue to discuss the Astrodome, but that is where the Texas Historical Commission met Wednesday to address the future of the Eighth Wonder of the World. The commission punted on making the Dome a protected state landmark.

Perhaps meeting 500 miles away from Houston made it easier to deny the obvious: The Astrodome is a historic building. If the Dome doesn't qualify for this designation, then the title might as well be meaningless. It isn't just about preserving Houston's history - the designation's attached tax credits will help entice developers to find a new use for the hallowed structure. The historic status also will require that any demolition plans be approved by the commission, ensuring that destruction comes only as a last resort.

This page has been adamant in its support of the preservation and restoration of Gus Wortham Golf Course on the city's east side.

A group of gardening enthusiasts from outside of the neighborhood made a play to take over the 151-acre site in order to transform it into a high-dollar, high-entrance-fee botanic garden that we believe could go virtually anywhere else in the metro area. Neighborhood groups and supporters of low-fee golf for kids lacked political muscle to fend off the challenge. Enter the Houston Golf Association wearing a white hat with its plaid pants.

HGA has promised to lead a fundraising effort that will revitalize everything from the course to the clubhouse to areas on the facility's perimeter. This deserves a polite golf clap. Gus Wortham today; all other munis tomorrow.